Mass casualty drill prepares DCCC EMS students

Students studying to be paramedics at Davidson County Community College received hands-on experiences as part of a training opportunity Tuesday.

BY DARRICK IGNASIAKThe Dispatch

THOMASVILLE | Students studying to be paramedics at Davidson County Community College received hands-on experiences as part of a training opportunity Tuesday.Twenty-four students in the college's emergency medical services program participated in a mass casualty incident drill in the former Davidson County Health Department Building beside of Novant Health Thomasville Medical Center. Thirteen of the students were first-year students and played the role of patients in conjunction with several simulation mannequins prepped by the college's esthetics department to display various injuries. The scenario consisted of a mass shooting of 17 people, and the second-year students worked the mass casualty incident as the paramedics.For the second-year students, the training opportunity, which was not open to the public, served as part of their EMS capstone course. That means the training is one of the last requirements before they graduate next month."EMS work in general is spur-of-the-moment situations that students need to be able to react to on their feet," said Rose McDaniel, associate dean of the DCCC School of Health, Wellness and Public Safety. "In light of all of our events in the world, it's important for students to be ready to act once they leave the college and are employed in emergency medical services."The scene inside of the building was chaotic. The first-year students were lying on the floor and portrayed gunshot wounds to the chest, back and legs. They were shouting for help as the second-year students entered the building to treat them and transport them to TMC's Emergency Department. Prior to the second-year students entering the building, Davidson County Emergency Services TAC (tactical) medics entered the building to secure it for the second-year students to enter (as with the case in real life as law enforcement secures the scene for paramedics). The scenes were lifelike, and one member of the tactical medics warned there were some graphic injuries inside.In one instance, one of the student paramedics was treating four patients at one time as each shouted for his help."This really does help them to say, 'I've really got to be able to drown that out and care for the patient that I need to care for,'" McDaniel said.Dustin Earnhardt was one of the first-year students who participated in the event."It's different," Earnhardt said, referring to the drill. "I understand the impact on them (second-year students), and we'll have to do it next year."Jeremy Tulbert is also a first-year student."It's a good learning experience," he said.Kyle Ousterman is a second-year student. He participated in the drill this past year as a first-year student."Last year, it was an eye-opener," he said. "This is only an experience you get to see on TV. This is something you hopefully never will have to experience, but this kind of prepares you mentally for what is out there because you just never know. Basically, you have to have the mentality anything can happen."Ousterman, who is an emergency medical technician in Randolph County, arrived on the scene of the drill to learn he had to transport a baby."My heart rate jumped up, but you have to follow what you are trained to do," he said. "I followed through with it and just kept going."Whitney Kirk, a second-year student, served as the incident commander for the drill. She has been an emergency medical technician for six years in Guilford County and was voted to be the incident commander by her fellow students."My role was basically overseeing the whole operation, making sure everything goes smoothly," Kirk said. "… It was definitely a big challenge. I did a lot of work this weekend to prepare for this role. I think I was selected because out of everyone in my class I have had the most experience in the field. I have been on a couple of incidents with multiple patients. I think this was a great opportunity for me to get a first-hand feel of what it would be like to be an incident commander."Sarah Baranowski graduated this past May from Davidson County Community College and went through a similar drill. Tuesday, she returned to assist the college."It helped out a lot," said Baranowski, a full-time paramedic with Davidson County Emergency Services. "In Davidson County, we don't get a whole lot of stuff like this. It's rare but when it does, you feel more comfortable with it."Hank Stowe, an EMS faculty member with DCCC, was pleased with Tuesday's drill."They have learned some lessons that they wouldn't have been able to learn outside of actually running a MCI (mass casualty incident) like this," he said. "I think if they get exposed to one in real life, they will do better. I think they did really good overall."The Davidson County and Thomasville rescue squads and A-RC-H Fire and Rescue assisted the community college and Davidson County Emergency Services on the scene.Darrick Ignasiak can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 217, or at darrick.ignasiak@the-dispatch.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.